Broadcast company decided to launch a new project aimed at enhancing the media coverage and improving the quality of transmitting information. According to the managerial stuff, particularly CEO Harrison Gatsby, the company should create a group composed of members from different departments to provide their plans for this program. They believed that the cooperative work of several departments would provide creative ideas and consistency in presenting the project.
However, the project leader, Tom Brown, the marketing managers faced challenges while making decision and coming to an agreement with other members of the project team. The major conflict burst out between Tom Brown and Gregory Fleming, research and development managers.
Both managers did not want to compromise. Hence, Mr. Brown was stand firm on the ground that it is necessary to make a focus on customers’ demand and market segmentation whereas Mr. Fleming was more concerned with innovation and creativity because this always determines supply and demand.
Three approaches to resolving the conflict situation
To begin with, this intergroup conflict can be resolved through smoothing techniques. In other words, it is necessary to achieve the balance and harmony between the conflicting parties. This can be carried out through reasonable allocation of functions. Mr. Gatsby, therefore, should re-evaluate the established goals and consider other solutions to the existing problems.
On the one hand, such an approach can foster the process of decision making and enhance the success of the project. On the other hand, if the conflict is not serious, there is no necessity for smoothing it because it can contribute to a healthy development of creative and innovative ideas.
A second viable resolution of the conflict can be compromising. It means that either sales manager or research and development manager should yield to some of the principles. For instance, Tom Gatsby should pay attention to innovative ideas proposed by Fleming and take some of them into account if they do not contradict the main scope of the project.
Besides, the sales manager should keep in mind that technological advancement is a key condition for successful media coverage. One the one hand, compromising can trigger other members of the team to express their concerns about the project and, at the same time, they will have an opportunity to consider other members’ goal. On the other hand, compromising can weaken the authority of project leader who should be the first to analyze the proposals.
Finally, the third resolution to the conflict under consideration is creating an opposing force. In our case, Mr. Gatsby should be more concerned with the project outcomes rather than with personal preferences and ambitions. In particular, the project leader should bear in mind that if the project is not successful, this failure can negatively influence the company’s revenues. When focusing on the idea of competition, the group work can be enhanced that will also contribute to the effectiveness of the company’s performance.
However, such an incentive can negative influence the cooperation and decision-making because excessive pressure can prevent the congruence of work. What is worse is that the team member can become depressed by the process of working. As a result, the performance can be considerably diminished. In this case, the manager should take care of the process itself and make everything possible to strike the balance between the active work and competitive conditions.